There are many justified reasons for this limited involvement, two of the most "prominent" being (a) the fragmented nature of the industry and (b) the one-sided nature of its projects (Anumba and Ruikar 2002). Unfortunately, the nature of the industry's built products, its organizations and processes, limit technological change within the industry (Gann 1997).
ICT Implementation Advantages and Drivers
ICT Implementation Barriers and Challenges
Future Industry Trends and Recommendations
Further Reading
1 PROJECT 2001-008-C (Part B): PROJECT TEAM INTEGRATION: COMMUNICATION COORDINATION AND
Research Background
One-size-fits-all delivery systems no longer work in the fluid global market, and performance-based specifications will continue into the next millennium. The 1990s saw many mergers, acquisitions, and ownership changes that publicly traded companies would never have considered 25 years ago.
Research Aims and Objectives
The roles of the owner, engineer, and contractor change in response to project delivery systems such as design/build, design/build/warranty, design/build/operate/maintain, and finance/design/. It is said to be heading towards the globalization of design engineering (engineering around the clock), materials, equipment and labor - with imports from the third world.
Report Aims and Objectives
2 INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL INDICATORS – COMPARATIVE USE OF COMPUTERS, WWW and
Australian Businesses
- By Business Size
- By Industry
- By Region
- By State
At the end of June 2001, only minor regional differences in IT use were recorded. As shown in Figure 2-3, smaller differences were recorded in the proportion of businesses with Internet access (71% in the main cities and 65% in others). areas) and lessor differences in.
Internet Activity (By State) - Sept 01
Australian Government (1998-2002)
- ICT and Internet
- Other Innovative Technologies (1998)
Additionally, federal departments and agencies had 100% internet access, with state/territorial (85%), local (77%) and other government agencies (60%) following closely behind. The use of EFTPOS was highest in local government (30%); compared to just 6% usage in federal and 17% in state/territorial departments and agencies.
Other Technologies Used by Government - Jun 98
International Comparison (2000-2002)
- Australia v 14 Key Countries (2002)
- Australia v Canada (1999-2001)
Because of differences in the 'scope' and 'content' of surveys covering these topics, Australian statistics can only be compared with those from a relatively small number of other countries. The following sections therefore present a summary of these international comparisons, while the adjusted 'scope' of the Australian survey (for UK and Nordic comparisons) can be seen in APPENDIX III (ABS 2002).
Canada v Australia: Businesses Using IT - 2000-01
- Australia v Nordic countries (2000-2001)
- Australia v the United Kingdom (UK) (2000-2001)
- E-Government Rankings (2001)
- Summary
The results of the 'E-Government Rankings' survey produced by the 'World Markets Research Centre' show that Australia compares quite well (Figure 2-15). In the past, older and more expensive technologies did not allow information to be stored in a cost-effective manner or form that clearly replicates a hard copy of the stored document.
3 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
E-Construction
Such a project management website can speed up the communication process between the various parties involved in a construction project; thus avoiding any unnecessary delays that are often the direct result of miscommunication. The report further states, “Organized collaboration on the Web occurs in one of two ways: through semi-public Internet portals [a website or service that offers a wide range of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and on-line shopping malls] such as Cephren, Buzzsaw and the like, or on private shopping network extranets owned by large engineering and construction firms. Semi-public portals will serve smaller companies and those for which it is not possible to host their own sites.
Summary
Internet access to project information and adoption of standards such as aecXML will facilitate access and sharing of information, leading to significantly reduced costs over the life of an asset. The more high-profile semi-public project portals can be seen in Appendix IV and include Autodesk's Buzzsaw.com site, Bentley's recently launched viecon.com site, and Cephren's ProjectNet.com site. Companies such as BidCom, BricsNet, BuildPoint, CADX, Cubus, Meridian and PrimaVera are also proving to have a strong presence through sites such as the Buildon Technologies projectCentre website; Meridian's ProjectTalk.com site;.
4 ORGANISATION CULTURE
Organisational Culture
ICT Culture
Although the use of metaphors is considered by some to be 'never entirely accurate', they are still accepted as an alternative but useful way of describing organizational cultures (Line 1999). Having said this, the 'interpretation' of ICT cultures, as a form of 'twentieth century magic', is believed to provide insight into the variety of ways in which ICT is managed within organizations and their cultures; and expose some of the dilemmas associated with successfully integrating ICT with business needs. Importantly, the elements of each archetype culture were developed from both organizations – that is, neither organization was associated with just one of the cultures described in Table 4.3.
Summary
5 ICT and CHANGE
- Industry Need
- Technology Driven Change
- Resistance to Technological Change
- Culture Driven Change – ‘Technology Is Not Enough’
- Invest in People – ‘Respect, Recruit and Retain’
- Shared ‘Ownership’
- Trust and Teams
- Summary
Change can be effected by strengthening the driving forces, or by weakening the restraining forces, or both – i.e. and then (c) to "refreeze" the new situation. Furthermore, it appears advantageous for implementers (eg of an innovative ICT tool or system) not to 'camouflage' the true nature of a change prior to its implementation – ie: not to portray the change as less dramatic and positively beneficial to the staff and the company. In an attempt to 'radically improve' the industry's performance on 'people issues', a working group was set up in the UK to identify practical and effective ways in which the construction industry could improve its performance (Rethinking Construction 2000).
6 ICT IMPLEMENTATION ADVANTAGES and DRIVERS
- Industry Perspective
- Organisational Perspective
- Project and Stakeholder Perspective
- Government Perspective
- Summary
As a result, the development and use of ICT systems has become the key technology for improving the construction process – that is, supporting decision-making in projects from the early planning and concept phase, through design, engineering and procurement, to assembly, installation, commissioning, operation and facilities management (Gann 1997). The main challenge facing SMEs is the proficiency of small organizations in using ICT (DCITA 1998; Fujitsu Center 1998; Foresight 2000; Lau, Wong et al. 2001). Research shows that almost all (95%) Australian government organizations with access to the Internet (June 1998) identified 'better access to information/services' as a benefit of the Internet (Figure 6.1).
7 ICT IMPLEMENTATION BARRIERS and CHALLENGES
- Industry Perspective
- Organisation Perspective
- Training and Education Issues
- Security Issues
- Project and Stakeholder Perspective
- Government Perspective
- Summary
Industry members who do not clearly identify the critical elements of the implementation - whether technical or managerial; and not identifying proactive, cost-effective and preventive actions during a decision-making process (e.g. whether or not an ICT tool or system should be implemented on a project) will increase the failure of that implementation (Millet 1999). Yeo 2002) refers to the success or failure of the development and implementation of ICT software systems as a function of the management of the organization; financial; technical; human;. and political 'critical failure factors': These factors are grouped into two categories and can be seen in Table 7-2. in the organizational and management context). Research indicates that 43% of Australian government organizations with access to the Internet (June 1998) reported 'security concerns' as a constraint to greater use of the Internet (Figure 7-1).
8 FUTURE INDUSTRY TRENDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Industry and Organisation Perspective
- From Paper to Electronic
- Interoperability
- e-Commerce
- Training and Education
However, to ensure a successful transition from paper to electronic, the industry must "crawl before it tries to walk" along the road of ICT technological change (Zipf 2000). For e-commerce to be fully effective, emerging systems (such as m-Commerce) must integrate with established technologies – eg: the only e-marketplaces that will thrive in the future will be those that integrate with the existing 'last part' of the company. ' systems. The dramatic changes in how ICT works and the widespread "explosion" of applications and future trends (based on these innovative technologies) are described as.
Project and Stakeholder Perspective
- Improved ICT Implementation
- Security
- Improved Innovation
- Increased Competition
The successful implementation of ICT tools and systems (especially Internet-based) within the industry are sensitive to the current legal status regarding electronic transmissions, the use of electronic signatures, etc. Senior managers should have direct participation in the formulation, specification and evaluation of the technology. The current competitive strength of the industry is that firms adopt ICT as a "need to reduce costs".
Summary
The gap between the technology's current use and potential indicates that these competitive dynamics will continue in the near future. Industry has the opportunity to mitigate some of these effects by successfully becoming a world leader through the use of ICT; and by learning how to transform its organizations, reconfigure the supply chain, and deliver new, improved, and qualitatively different services and products (based on local and overseas market trends) (Fujitsu Center 1998). Finally, if Australian organizations continue to explore the competitive dynamics of the construction industry without realizing the current and future trends and benefits of adopting innovative ICT solutions, it will limit their ability to internationalize (expand into overseas markets) and allow the continuation of international businesses, that successfully enter local markets.
9 CONCLUSION
10 BIBLIOGRAPHY
34; How to Succeed in a World Dominated by Cyberspace Communications." Journal of Management in Engineering (May/June). 34; The Next 25 Years: The Future of Communications in the Construction Industry." Journal of Management in Engineering (September/October). 34; Forces Driving the Adoption of New Information Technologies." Journal of Construction Engineering and Management (September/October).
11 GLOSSARY
The links can be to files on the same computer or on a computer on the other side of the world. The Web was conceived in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee proposed to the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Switzerland to develop a system that would allow scientists to browse each other's articles. The language and protocol he developed led to today's World Wide Web (DCITA 1998).
12 APPENDICES
2001-008-C Project Schedule
Australian Businesses Using Information Technologies and the Internet - By State (2001)
ABS Survey Comparisons
In the comparison shown in Chapter 5, the Australian data have been adjusted to (reasonably) match the common Nordic range. In the comparison presented in Chapter 5, the Australian data have been scaled to the same scale as the UK, with both datasets excluding the financial sector. The concept of income in the UK is slightly different to that used in the Australian survey, as it is the ratio of internet sales to total sales (rather than internet income to total income as per the Australian treatment).
Sample ICPM Web-sites / Portals
Buzzsaw’s Buzzsaw.com site
Buildon Technology’s projectCentre site
Cephren’s ProjectNet® site
Viecon’s ProjectBank site
Bovis Lend Lease’s ProjectWeb site
Project Services eProject site
Meridian’s ProjectTalk.com site
Constructware’s Constructw@re system
Framework Technologies ActiveProject® system
Key Research Studies
- Technology – Enhanced Project Management
- Online Remote Construction Management (ORCM)
- Strategic Implementation of IT/IS Projects in Construction
- Project-Specific Web Sites: Friend or Foe?
- Anticipating Reuse: Documenting Buildings for Operations using Web Technology
- Trying to Improve Communication and Collaboration with Information Technology
It is therefore suggested that careful consideration be given to continuously monitoring implementation performance throughout the project life cycle. Early research has shown that emerging technologies, such as groupware products and the Internet, have the potential to 'dramatically improve' the way people communicate and collaborate in 21st century organizations. 2 Research results x It is important to understand the strength of the 'counterforces' that influence the
13 AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
